Dead Man

In the video performance Dead Man, urban artist and activist Vladimir Turner enacts a striking ritual in an abandoned coal mine in Bytom, one of the most polluted places in Poland. Turner eats coal, spits it out, and then uses his coloured saliva to paint himself – an act that relates traditional shamanic practices to the real consumption of industrial resources. This almost meditative ritual questions the cynical game of poisoning, protest and purgation while urgently reminding us of our own involvement.

Frank Krämer